BY JYOTHSNA HEGDE
Atlanta, GA, September 12, 2024:In his first Independence Day address since beginning his third term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated a vision for a “Viksit Bharat” (Developed India) by 2047, drawing inspiration from the nation’s freedom struggle in a stirring speech delivered from the historic Red Fort on August 15, 2024. Underlining the power of collective determination during the freedom struggle, he noted how 40 crore people managed to overthrow colonial rule and expressed confidence that today’s citizens could achieve much more. “This is the golden period of Bharat. Viksit Bharat 2047 awaits us,” he declared, underscoring the significant efforts underway to meet this goal. The speech served as a clarion call for national pride and collective effort toward advancing India’s technological and industrial capabilities on the global stage.
His vision resonated across the globe. Tricolors flew beyond seven seas at the grand 28th Annual Festival of India celebrations hosted by the India American Cultural Association (IACA) at the Gas South Center. From spectacular cultural performances that showcased India’s rich tapestry of traditional dance forms to the awe-inspiring headless dance by Indian performing artist Robo Ganesan, the festival, with its bazaar, fanfare, pageantry, a movie trailer release, and seminars, attracted over 6,000 attendees and 60 diverse vendors. The festival echoed the honor and rich heritage of India across borders. “Festival of India was a grand success, with more attendance than in recent years. The festival witnessed celebrity guest Jayaprada and Attorney General Chris Carr,” said Kaushal Tripathi, President of IACA.
Dafli Wale fame Smt. Jayaprada headlined the grand celebrations, with guests of honor including Attorney General Chris Carr, Hon. Madan Ghildiyal, Consul, Consulate General of India, Atlanta, and Alfred John, Chairman, Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. “I’m honored to extend my warmest regards to you on the 78th Indian Independence Day and the 28th Festival of India. This exciting celebration marks an important milestone for freedom and democracy while honoring the significance of your cultural heritage,” Governor Brian Kemp said in his message. “The Indian American community is vibrant and thriving across the State of Georgia, with members contributing to almost every facet of life. The Peach State is made better by the shared values and rich culture of our Indian American community. Thank you for all you do to make our state the best place to live, work, and raise a family.” Dignitaries and VIPs, including U.S. Senator for Georgia Jon Ossoff, echoed similar sentiments, commending the contributions of the Indian community to Atlanta and the world in their congratulatory wishes for Indian Independence.
Scene-stealer Jayaprada, shining in silver, rang in the 78th Independence Day in Atlanta, Georgia. Announcing that she had come “a long way” with her son Samrat for this Independence Day, the leading Indian actress of the 70s and 80s, now a parliamentarian, was introduced to attendees in a ‘Koffee with Karan’ style question-and-answer session. Fans had the chance to get up close and personal with the superstar, for which the diva graciously responded.
“As a member of the FOI founding team since 1997, it is heartening to see FOI grow over the years and help us celebrate India’s Independence Day every year joyfully. During the preparation and on the event day, we touch the lives of so many kids, performers, families, and volunteers and get a chance to meet many of our community friends and exchange pleasantries,” noted Ani Agnihotri, BOD, IACA.
The 300 ft flag march, accompanied by the energetic Dhol Tasha by Nadtal Atlanta, enhanced the patriotic fervor! The Health Fair on-site featured over 16 different specialties, 22 physicians, and a blood drive. The Health Fair was organized by Dr. Lalitha Medepalli, Dr. Indira Devu, and Dr. Indira Menon.
Cultural performances highlighting diverse dance forms of India kept the audience enthralled throughout the day. “One of the main attractions of the Festival of India is the cultural program stage. It is always a challenge to stage over 40 performances involving over 300 artists, VIPs, and awardees. The cultural team worked overtime to meet the challenge, and it showed. A special shout-out to Chaitali Dey, Arindam Chowdhury, Joyshree Chowdhury, and Akashlina Sayed for excellent management of the show,” said Dr. Raktim Sen, Cultural Director, FOI.
Several competitions, catering to various interests including art, chess, dance, and public speaking, provided a platform for participants to showcase their talents in their chosen fields.
“Festival of India celebrated its 28th anniversary with two new initiatives: the Women’s Forum and the Youth Forum. And we are very excited about both,” said Chand Akkineni, Chairman, BOD, IACA, who also conceptualized the idea of FOI in 1997.
The Youth Forum kicked off with an inspirational talk by Gopichand Thotakura, the first Indian civilian astronaut. Indian-born pilot Thotakura made history as the first Indian tourist to journey into space aboard a commercial flight operated by Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin on May 19, 2024. Thotakura was selected as part of the crew for Blue Origin’s New Shepard-25 (NS-25) mission, joining five other astronauts from across the globe. Thotakura’s journey carried particular significance as he became the first Indian to venture into space since Rakesh Sharma’s historic voyage aboard the Russian Soyuz T-11 spacecraft in April 1984. Notably, Thotakura joined an exclusive group of 31 individuals who have crossed the Karman line, delineating the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
Riding the coattails of 53 years of presence in the Indian community in Atlanta, IACA launched its Women’s Forum (WF) division on January 28, 2024, during the annual Republic Day celebrations. The IACA Women’s Forum provides women with a safe and inclusive space to connect, collaborate, and thrive. The mission of the Forum is to empower women by fostering their autonomy and agency, thereby strengthening families and communities. The Forum will focus on three core pillars: Empowerment, Leadership, and Sisterhood, enabling women to excel both personally and professionally. “Although still in its infancy, the WF has piqued the interest of many women from the Indian community in the Atlanta area,” said Gita Vemparala, coordinator for WF.
Through the Raksha Panel, with Aparna Bhattacharyya, executive director of Raksha, and Jyothsna Hegde (this author), the Women’s Forum observed a moment of silence for Moumita Debnath, who was sexually assaulted and brutally murdered in Kolkata recently. The panel discussed ways in which sexual abuse and domestic violence permeate society early on through conversations with boys and girls, eventually resulting in a decline in societal values. The role and need for organizations such as Raksha, which help women in distress facing various challenges, was also highlighted.
Keynote speaker for the Women’s Forum, Tina Shah, former Executive Vice President and General Manager for Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, spoke about her personal journey of breaking barriers. Shah has received numerous accolades, including CableFax’s 2022 Most Powerful Women Award and WICT Southeast’s 2021 Woman of the Year Award. She has also served on the Board of the Atlanta Women’s Foundation and as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Georgia’s School of Law.
The Women’s Forum panelists engaged in meaningful conversations about entrepreneurship, navigating the workplace, sisterhood, domestic violence, and abuse issues addressed by Raksha, Inc., and financial preparedness. The entrepreneurship panel, featuring small business owners Anusmita Bardhan, Lakshmi Mandavilli, Nandini Patel, Swati Chennuri, Pradnya Kharat, Indrani Chakrabarty, and Kratika Jain, spoke about their inspirational entrepreneurial journeys. Senior IT professionals Vaisheshi Jalajam, Chaya Dewan, Radhika Rao, Vasantha Kandikuppa, and Nidhi Kharbanda explored essential tools for thriving in any professional environment, from self-advocacy and career growth to mastering performance reviews, workplace etiquette, and salary negotiation. Clinical psychologist Dr. Ayesha Suneja, divorce and transition coach Gita Vemparala, and Chief R & G Officer of Banyan Way, Anu Ganesh, shared insights on personal growth through self-reflection and better support for one another, through fun activities. Bhavya Chaudhary, Esq., financial advisor Grace Multani, Neeli G. Shah, JD, LLM, CEPA, and Mangala Iyer in IT discussed the importance of financial preparedness for women with tips on starting a financial journey. Multani highlighted four cornerstones: setting goals, evaluating net worth (what you own minus what you owe) and cash flow (income minus expenses), having cash reserves for emergencies, and securing life, disability, and long-term care insurance.
Merit Scholarships were awarded to Raaga Reddy Kottapally, Shivani Shreedhar, Harshika Garlapati, Ankit Chandra, Rohan Dalal, Sumith Hebbar, Kapil Shankar, Nikhita Sai Chinmay, Aarush Assudani, Aritra Saha, Srirag Sravan Tatavarti and Raj Sahir Shroff. Financial/Merit Scholarships were awarded to Akshaya Sharma, Rayed Chowdhury, Ashnaz Amyn Hirani, Pranavi Suthari and Shana Sah through IACA’s IASF (Indian American Scholarship Fund). The organizers for IASF include Dr. Paddy Sharma and Kris Gadde.
The efforts to present a Souvenir to commemorate the event were led by Jyothsna Hegde, Chand Akkineni, Ani Agnihotri and Dr. Uma Majmudar.
The trailer of Bahumukham, a psychological thriller, that explored intricacies of the human psyche with Atlant’s Harshiv Karthik playing the lead and written, designed, produced and directed the film in multiple locations in Atlanta, Macon, Canton and the surroundings of Georgia and other parts of the USA was also released at the event.
Art competition hosted by Shashikala Foundation, Public Speaking organized by Area G71- Youth Leadership coordinators Ranjitha Veena Kadam & Lina Surianto, IACA Mohar Chess Tournament, organized by Mohua Maity owner of Mohar chess with Anna Baumstark, Joseph Couvillion, Viral Shah. With Dr. Fun Fong, President of GCA, who sponsored all the chess sets, clocks, attracted kids and young adults alike, drawing large participants in each of the activities. The winners were awarded at the event.The Dance competition held earlier in the day was coordinated by Geetanjali Talukdar, BOD, IACA.
Public Speaking competition was organized by-Area G71 Toastmaster Youth Leadership Co-ordinators-Ranjithaveena Pol & Lina Surianto. Winners included 1st place- Kashvi Anantharam, 2nd place- Agasthya Tutukuri, 3rd place – Jerrick Jayasarathi in Middle School Category, 1st place – Gitanjali Nair in High School category and 1st place – Shourya Tutukuri, 2nd place – Thiru Sowrirajan in Table topics.
Art Competition Winners included Nitya Thakur, Nainika Sathya, Naisha Baurai in High School levels, Anvi Kshatriya, Aakruti Singh, Saiee Mahulkar in Middle School level, and Aanay Patil and Tara Lal in Kids Groups. “The FOI art competition is a wonderful opportunity for kids to creatively express themselves, aligning perfectly with the mission of the Shashikala Foundation (SF), Pramod Waingankar, founder, SF said.
Winners in Chess tournament included Adult Section: Binh
Tran, Srinivasan Swaminathan, Chittaranjan Behera; Open Section: Diptarko Gupta,
Dhakshith Sathishkumar, Aarya Vankadari
; U/600: Sanjeev Vikram, Ishanth Kumar Challa, Atharva Kolappan; U/300: Allen
Jeeva Peter, Mithra Kolappan, Smita
Sathish Kumar; Unrated: Vadym Orlov, Vivaan Mohanty, Krishanu Bhaskar Hazarika.
Mohua Maity owner of Mohar chess organized the event with Anna Baumstark,
Joseph Couvillion, Viral Shah. “Special Thanks to Fun Fong( president of GCA)
to sponsor all the chess sets, clocks and do the prize distribution,” she noted.
Food from 5 well known restaurants and shopping aplenty completed the wholesome experience.
Sponsors included Delta, Platinum, Subramonian Shankar, Dr. Jag Sheth, Silver, Rapid IT, Fusion Group Games, Jaipur Living, Suvidha, Bronze, Bahumukham, GAPI, and Sherwin Williams, Donors.
Kaushal Tripathi, Rani Singh, Nishith Yadav, Anamika Pol, Suma Potini serve on Executive committee and Chand Akkineni, Ani Agnihotri, Anoop Kapoor, Rina Gupta, Dr. Paddy Sharma, Geetanjali Talukdar, Tushar Sanghvi, Meher Lanka, Vishwanath Ganti, Dhananjay Gupta, Nitin Joshi and Kris Gadde serve on the board, with Priya Ranjan Misra, Baren Talukdar and Ranjithaveena Pol serving on Management Committee.
“Months of dedicated efforts by volunteers and organizers bring this festival alive. Sincere and heartfelt thanks to each of them who contributed wholeheartedly,” the board members said in a joint statement.
